Things to see and do Alpes-De-Haute-Provence

Here is a fascinating visit! Alexandra David-Neel was the first European woman to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa in Tibet in 1924. Anarchist, feminist and journalist, born in Paris in 1868, she left her mark on the very masculine world of adventure and exploration. She settled in Digne in 1928 in her house Samten Dzong or "residence of reflection" where she wrote her works in her Tibetan room. A villa-museum is incredibly rich!

The champion of cosmetics made in Provence reveals the secrets of the making of its products during a visit not to be missed. On site, you will also find a magnificent museum-shop (at factory prices), where you can do your shopping while discovering its archives, its values and some treasures straight from the past. Finally, don't miss the fascinating Mediterranean garden with its many wild and cultivated species, which are real natural treasures used daily for the elaboration of care products and fragrances.

On the site of the former convent of Les Cordeliers, 3 areas with different services harmoniously coexist. Inside, a university training centre, the European University of Fragrances and Flavours, with restricted access. And the Artemisia Museum (named after a family of plants) which offers a dive into the secrets of medicinal and aromatic plants (agri-food and/or cosmetics) in Haute Provence (and particularly the Lure mountain, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its exceptional biodiversity.) through 7 interactive discovery areas. Various exciting workshops, for young and old, around the plants of the region are offered throughout the year (upon prior registration) and since 2018 a plants and well-being workshop in July and August. The Convent of the Cordeliers, itself the successor of one of the first Franciscan priories in Provence dating from the 13th century, was occupied until the end of the 18th century. Restored from 1963, the exterior of the convent can be visited free of charge all year round. To see the Cordeliers gate (14th century), the last vestige of the six gates that the fortified enclosure had.

Many forts make up the whole fortress of Tournoux: the Pellegrin (1,290 m), battery (1,350 m), the average (1,500 m), the upper (1,700 m), the Caurres battery (1,800 m) and the Ault greenhouse (2,000 m) 00 m). The site was built on 700 m of disgradings and placed on a rocky spur, and was built in the nineteenth century to prevent access to Larche Pass. Currently well preserved, the ensemble undeniably attracts the visitor's eye by its inclination and architecture on the mountain side.

A faience manufacturer for three generations, this factory has been labelled a living heritage company (EPV), a state label, for the excellence of French know-how. The visit of the workshops allows to follow the complete manufacturing cycle. The initial mixture is made from raw quarry clays. It is then presented in the form of a coloured earthenware paste. In the modelling workshop, the parts are moulded one by one. They are then unmoulded, dried and deburred. The baking, known as biscuit baking, is carried out in an oven at 1,020°C. At the exit of the oven, the earthenware biscuit is glazed. The decoration is entirely hand painted, piece by piece. The second firing, called enamel firing, at 980°C, develops the brightness of the enamel and colours.